Abstract:

The Regenerable Contaminant Removal System (RCRS) is an innovative method to remove sulfur and halide compounds from contaminated gas streams to part-per-billion levels in support of lunar oxygen production. A series of high efficiency sorbents sequentially removes contaminants at temperatures above dew point. Sorbents are regenerated, and contaminants are recovered in concentrated form. The RCRS is installed downstream from lunar soil reduction reactors to protect hardware from corrosion, to protect catalysts from poisoning, and to reduce the load on aqueous contaminant removal processes used in advance of electrolysis. Custom, high-porosity, high-capacity sorbents are used to minimize sorbent mass and sorption reactor volume while also minimizing process pressure drop. Sorption reactor volumes are small compared to the volume of soil reduction reactors. High porosity and sorbent durability are imparted through the use of organic and inorganic fillers and binders during manufacture of the sorbents. The RCRS imposes very little parasitic load on ISRU oxygen recovery systems during the course of sorbent regeneration and recovery of contaminant byproducts. The basic RCRS process can be tailored to provide contaminant removal for a wide range of reducing gas compositions.